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Re: xstrtol.h
From: |
Jim Meyering |
Subject: |
Re: xstrtol.h |
Date: |
Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:20:18 +0200 |
Ben Pfaff <address@hidden> wrote:
> Jim Meyering <address@hidden> writes:
>> Bruno Haible <address@hidden> wrote:
>>> I can prepare a patch for this; just let me know whether for
>>> $ od -j -1
>>> you would see the error message
>>> od: invalid --skip-bytes argument `-1'
>>> or
>>> od: invalid `-j' argument `-1'
>>
>> You've discovered why the current diagnostics do not mention
>> explicit option strings: hard-coding an option string like --skip-bytes
>> or -j will inevitably be misleading to those who specify the offending
>> argument with the alternative option string.
>
> Would it be reasonable for the message to read as:
> od: invalid -j or --skip-bytes argument `-1'
A little background on my bias :-)
There's been (at least with coreutils) a long-standing informal policy
to avoid using option strings in diagnostics. The rationale is that the
messages are usually more readable without them. Also, the message needn't
change if/when the option name changes.
Also, with the format,
_("invalid %s argument `%s'")
if the first "%s" can be either "--foo", or "-f or --foo", that seems
like it may lead to translation problems, e.g., if "invalid" and/or
"argument" would have slightly different translations in those two cases.
However, I don't know enough to say for sure.
- Re: POTFILES.in updates?, (continued)
- Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/19
- Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/19
- Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/19
- Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Eric Blake, 2007/07/19
- Re: xstrtol.h (was: Re: POTFILES.in updates?), Bruno Haible, 2007/07/21
- Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/21
- Re: xstrtol.h, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h, Eric Blake, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h, Ben Pfaff, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h,
Jim Meyering <=
- Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/22
- Re: xstrtol.h, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/25
- human interface change?!? [Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/26
- Re: human interface change?!? [Re: xstrtol.h, Bruno Haible, 2007/07/26
- Re: human interface change?!? [Re: xstrtol.h, Jim Meyering, 2007/07/26
Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Eric Blake, 2007/07/19
Re: POTFILES.in updates?, Karl Berry, 2007/07/23